Veteran sports writer Jim Utter covers NASCAR for The Charlotte Observer and its racing site, ThatsRacin.com. In this space, Jim writes about all things NASCAR and other forms of racing which may also be relevant ... or not.

Friday, February 22, 2013

So, why won't you see Tony Stewart participate in Saturday's Sprint Cup Series practice sessions? Simply put, Stewart doesn't know how he can make his No. 14 Chevrolet any better in preparation for Sunday's Daytona 500.

Let him explain:

"It always makes you nervous because you always want to win the biggest race of the year. But when I say nervous, it’s not like you lose sleep over it. But I guess today when I say I’m calm about it, it’s like I’m really happy with my car. I got out and I looked at (crew chief) Steve Addington and he’s like I’m content if you are and I’m like I honestly don’t know what else to ask for with the car. So, it’s nice from a driver’s side to be able to say I don’t know what else to ask you for. I don’t know what else I need. So, it’s a good scenario," Stewart said.

"When there’s not a scratch on it, it’s ready to race. Those guys are going to have the whole day tomorrow to just get everything ready and go over everything with a fine-tooth comb and make sure everything is absolutely perfect and ready for Sunday. That’s a position I don’t know that we’ve ever been in. I think we’ve always run final practice and if nothing else, at least run 15 or 20 laps in final practice. To have this year and know that we’re finished and ready to go, it’s nice for those guys to have that opportunity and time to get ready for the race and we’re not going to be doubled-up tomorrow, so we’ll have a pretty relaxing day tomorrow to get ready for Sunday.”

Go behind the scenes as members of the Nos. 48 and 88 shop paint and decal Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet SS for Sunday's Daytona 500 in this time-lapse video created by Hendrick Motorsports.